Today

Daily Briefing, Friday 11 September: Assisted dying returns to the Commons as two churches choose new leaders

By The FaithDaily Desk

Good morning. Anglican Ink reports that the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, wrote an opinion piece in the Telegraph urging MPs to vote against the reintroduced Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which came before the Commons on Friday. The article restates her opposition to assisted dying. A vote in Parliament reaches beyond the church, which is why it leads the day.

Anglican Ink also reports that Mullally and her team met President Phil Rosenberg and colleagues from the Board of Deputies of British Jews at Lambeth Palace, to discuss Christian-Jewish relations in the UK. The meeting took place the previous day; the statement was released Friday.

Two churches named new leaders. Anglican Ink reports that the Nippon Sei Ko Kai, the Anglican Church in Japan, elected the Rt Revd Dr Renta Nishihara, Bishop of Chubu and Administrator Bishop of Kyoto, as its 21st primate, at the 71st General Synod. In the United States, Anglican Ink reports that the Episcopal Diocese of Florida elected the Reverend J. Randolph (Randy) Alexander Jr. as its ninth bishop, chosen by a convention of more than 200 clergy and lay delegates at Camp Weed & Cerveny Conference Center.

There was a departure too. Anglican Ink reports that Dean Peter Catt of St John's Cathedral, Brisbane, announced his retirement after 20 years in a letter expressing "deep regrets" and explaining his involvement in a Stan television programme that featured a porn star.

From the United States, Religion News Service reports that the National Baptist Convention USA Inc. met and joined civil rights partners in a push for midterm voter turnout. "They're trying to make voting difficult, but you stand in line if you got to stand all day," said the Rev. Boise Kimber, the convention's president. "You are immovable." Separately, Religion News Service reports that Al Mohler has aligned himself publicly with Christian nationalism.

Several outlets marked the anniversary and the season. Religion News Service reports that, twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, some 80 universities now have full-time Muslim chaplains, among them Rutgers University in New Jersey. Charisma News marks the same anniversary with a piece arguing that New York City has changed since 2001. And Religion News Service, with NPR, explains the meaning of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.

Elsewhere, Charisma News reports that a married couple, Clare and Aaron Walenga, survived a lightning strike during a walk outside Orlando; the outlet says Clare was left without a pulse or breath for several minutes. United Methodist News announced "Signs of Life," a podcast whose first season arrives September 28. Christianity Today published a review of Jennifer Anderson's book Feed Them Well. The Gospel Coalition released the first part of a podcast asking whether the gospel can bridge a polarized society.

Zoom out: The day fell on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, a thread that ran through several of the day's stories.

What we're following

Anglican Ink: Statement on meeting between the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Board of Deputies Read it
Religion News Service: At NBCUSA denominational meeting, leaders, advocates and AOC urge midterm voter turnout Read it
Charisma News: Married Couple Survives Terrifying Lightning Strike: ‘We Are a Miracle’ Read it
United Methodist News: UM News Podcast Season One Read it

Sources